We are back home safe from time spent in Tennessee.
This was our second trip to the Great Smokies, but what a blessing it was this time to vacation with extended family.
My brother and I each have four kids, so all eight cousins got to spend the week together. I remember how much I loved spending time with my cousins growing up, so I'm sure life-long memories were made. I couldn't be happier for them!
We would line all eight of them up for photos any chance we got...
Aren't they a great looking group?
Their ages range from five to seventeen.
We marvel at how well they all get along.
They are a delight!
The girls winning prizes in Dollywood...
My parents in Anakeesta...
Me with my sister-in-law (after our husbands roped us into a pretty treacherous UTV tour...)
The guys!
Our two families...
And this one, called the Village, had a European feel. It reminded me of the medieval streets we walked in Paris...
One more of my growing kids in Dollywood...
Have you ever seen the interviews of Dolly Parton talking about her vision for Dollywood and how it got its name? There's a cute one that looks like it's from the 1980s. You can tell she's so proud of her hometown and how beautifully it's been built up through the years.
We certainly felt a bright and positive vibe there, and remarked that even though it was lavishly decorated for fall, none of the decorations were creepy or spooky.
I've heard that if you visit Disney World around Halloween, there are strolling performers dressed in scary costumes, and Disney villains creepily wandering Main Street. I don't know if that's true, but we surely appreciated how family friendly Dollywood was, and noticed the bright and uplifting atmosphere, even though it was fully decorated for fall.
(As a mother, I always hated it when my children got scared, and never thought fear was cute or harmless. In fact, God says, "I have not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7. But I suppose that's a topic for another day. 😉)
🍁
~ Courtney
